Bear, Here's my viewpoint on this gruesome subject. It's coming from a man who has always been an athlete. I hit the ground running and kept on running till I graduated from Arkansas A&M on a football scholarship Six years in the Marine Corps and a career in Law enforcement afterward kept me always in tip top shape. That doesn't happen by accident.....you gotta work for it.

I am taking MY MIND, my will power and my unflappable faith in God, and applying the same principals I used toward training and conditioning toward my ALS. Winners have a common trait. They are mentally positive. That is my most useful weapon in my personal war with this disease. The way I see it is that all of us have only two choices: 1. Cow down in a pitiful ball of self pity and wait for the end. or 2. Demonstrate the power of our character by interacting with everyone in an upbeat and courageous manner even as we slide toward death.

My sense of humor is my second weapon of choice. People expect tears and negative input from me. I give them the opposite. I'm not cracking jokes anymore, but my biggest smile and two thumbs up is my trademark nowadays when anyone asks, "How are you doing?"

Underneath it all my true source of power is my Christian belief system. I liken this disease to Satan. He wants to break my will. He wants me to cry out in pity, cursing the higher powers that caused this calamity to occur in my life. God however is my shield. I will never be beaten while I call upon him for my strength. Sure, I know I'm dying, but that doesn't make me a loser. We all die. I know what's waiting for me across that old Jordan ford. On the way, though the road is rocky, I will hold my head up and show the world....I chose to laugh in Satan's face. It's my hope that using me as an example my slip stream will carry a few others that were heading in the wrong direction....over with me to glory. Makes me wonder if after all....that might be part of God's plan?

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